The Bad Place
by esompthin
Summary: A drabble about Anxiety and our new evil friend. Spoilers for "Can LYING Be Good?" (not shipping, an origin story)


Thick, smog slid against Virgil's skin; sticking to him in stringy clumps. Every time he tried to take a step forward, the black spiderwebs would grow thicker; the dark smoke blinding him. He doesn't know how many times he tripped over nothing, only for the fog to scatter, and let him fall into a deep abyss. His screams of terror were not the only ones to echo through this land. There were others here, somewhere, he knew it. But he had never once found them. Virgil was alone, always alone, wandering throughout this terrible nightmare. There was no escape.

Virgil crashed at the bottom of the pit; letting out a deep groan. It wasn't the landing that hurt him; it was the falling. The fear, the adrenaline that rushed through him, spiking erratically; making his heart rush too fast and his mind buzz. That's what he hated the most.

"Oh, that looked pleasant." A voice said from above him.

Virgil jumped, immediately scrambling back and away from the figure before him. He tried to catch his breath as he stared at the man. He'd never met anyone else in here before. And yet, here one was. The first person he'd ever met since he woke up here. Anxiety mumbled uselessly "U-uh, um."

"I've seen you around." The man said, "What's your name?"

His face was obstructed by the shadow of his hat, but he held out a hand, and seemed pleasant enough. Virgil forced himself to reach up and take his hand. The man yanked him up - too hard, too fast - and Virgil let out a sharp gasp. He took his hand back and held it close to his chest. "I'm- I'm Anxiety."

Virgil didn't want to tell him his real name yet. The idea made him nervous. Besides, this didn't seem like the kind of place to have cutesy names. Here, it was a mental bloodbath, and the more cards he had in his hands, the better.

"Oh," The man purred, tilting his head up, "I like that."

Virgil took a step back at the sight of the man's face. Sure, one side looked just like him. But the other is - "Y-your face-"

"Nasty isn't it?" The man smiled, reaching up to brush his own scales, "I hate it."

"I- I don't-" Virgil glanced around at the void surrounding them. His feet were itching to escape, to get away from him, as fast as he could, but he couldn't deny the fact that he was desperate to not be alone anymore. "What's your name?"  
"It's certainly not Deceit." The man said, letting out a low chuckle. "And I'm dissatisfied in meeting you."

"O-oh." Virgil said, wringing his hands. His mind worked overtime - but then, when didn't it? - as he tried to figure the other man out. "So, you talk in lies? So you're happy to meet me?"  
"No."

"Was - does that mean I'm right, or?"

"Absolutely not."

Virgil pushed down his confusion and came up with a quick solution. He pointed to his jacket and asked, "What color is this?"

Deceit glanced down before looking back into his eyes. He hesitated, but said, "Probably not black."

"Okay, great." Virgil sighed, satisfied in knowing how to communicate with this guy. "So you do lie. Do you know where we are?"

Deceit shrugged, lazily looking around at the smog. "No."

"Where are we? Honestly." Virgil asked, growing more nervous.

Deceit lifted into the air, summoning a cane out of nowhere. He waved it around as he laid back against the smoke. "Well you're _not_ a personality trait of a teenage boy. And this _isn't_ the dark side of his mind, the forgotten side."

Virgil looked up at him, his eyes wide, "How did you do that?"

"We're imaginary, genius. We can do what we want." Deceit said, twisting around to literally look down at him. "I mean - _can't_."

In all of his time here, Virgil has never been able to fly. He thought about the falling experience he just went through, and decided that he probably wouldn't like flying much. Shaking his head, he said, "So, we're stuck here forever?"

Deceit swooped close to him, his creepy snake eye looking directly into Virgil's, his lips pulled into a wild grin, " _Yes!_ "

Virgil blinked, leaning back a bit. "Does that mean-"  
"I may or may not know a way outta here, and I don't like you, so I want you to come with me into the _good_ part of Thomas' brain. The part where we _belong_!" Deceit said, looping an arm around Virgil's shoulders, "See, genius, I see a future were you an' I thrive in the good place. In there, it's all rainbows and sunshine all the time. Nothing bad'll ever happen to us there! And you can only get there with my help!"

Virgil felt something akin to hope rise in him as he listened to the other man. He nodded along, a bit excited, a bit nervous, as he said, "A good place? Where we belong?"

"Yes! And if you trust me, genius, then we can go together!" Deceit held out his hand, "C'mon, we're friends, right?"

Virgil nodded and took his hand. Deceit grinned, lifting Virgil high into the air as they flew off to some unknown destination. Virgil closed his eyes and hummed to himself, not wanting to think about the height. Deceit jostled him a little bit, saying, "You're missing all the action! There's the others! Ignorance, Depression, Rage - don't look him in the eye. Oh, there's Obsession and Lust. They're adorable."

Virgil couldn't tell what Deceit was pointing to. All he saw was darkness.

Deceit landed, dropping Virgil right before a large, rectangular wall that Virgil had never seen before. He'd never been this far into the void; it was too intimidating for him to travel to on his own. But now he felt stupid for not being able to find it earlier. It was so painfully obvious.

Virgil ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head, "A door!? This entire time! It's just been a door to freedom!?"

"But everyone here can open the door." Deceit said, "Everyone except you."

Virgil shook his head, looking over at the other trait, "Okay, you're lying thing is making me anxious. Can you please chill for, like, two seconds?" Deceit sighed, but nodded. "Great. Why can't anyone else open it? Or why can I?"

"I _can_ open it." Deceit explained, "Because I have _good_ intentions."

Virgil groaned. He should've known Deceit wouldn't give him a straight answer just because he asked. He picked at the sleeves of his jacket, muttering to himself, before he took a deep breath and looked back up at the door.

"Fine. Whatever. So how do you open it?" Virgil asked, fighting down the fear and worry that grew thick in his chest. He had to get out of here, the bad place was horrible, and he needed to escape. He didn't stop to think about right or wrong, he was only thinking about what was best for himself.

"Don't think about something pure." Deceit said, "And don't jiggle the handle a bit because it doesn't stick a little."

Virgil placed his hand on the door handle, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He thought of safety, of peace of mind, of warmth and love. He thought of all the things he'd never known. He turned the handle and felt it click. Before he could even open his eyes, Deceit pushed past him; scrambling to enter the light.

Virgil hesitated, staring at the bright, white rectangle before him. The other side of the door. The good place. His hands shook as he took his first step forward; he was scared - dear _lord_ , he was scared - but he knew this was the right thing to do.

The door slammed shut behind him, pushing him further into the good place. It was so much different than the bad one. Where the bad side of the door was empty, null of any substance; the good side had life everywhere. Paintings of memories and beloved childhood toys covered every inch of the walls. And there were _walls_ , instead of a big, terrifying space. The noises on this side weren't screams of terror or gross sobs. It was laughter that echoed down the halls. It was peaceful, relaxing. Virgil knew he made the right choice.

Deceit let out a wild whoot, throwing his hands in the air. "YES! I'M FREE! Oh, I can't wait to just disappear and keep to myself, never bother anyone or touch anything." Deceit strolled over to the memories, observing them. He grinned as he ran his hands over the paintings, smearing the colors, "Except this, and that, and that."

"Wait!" Virgil said, jumping forward, "What're you doing?!"  
"Changing these to fix more of my aesthetic." Deceit said. The little boy in one of the paintings was frowning now, arms crossed and face red. "You can do it, too. Give it a try. It'll be good for you."

Virgil shook his head, refusing to take part in this. But Deceit just waved his hand, and suddenly, Virgil's hand shot out and touched the nearest object. A clock. The hands on the clock reacted immediately, spinning fast and faster until time didn't seem real anymore. Virgil's heart quickened at the sight of it. He removed his hand from the clock, but it wouldn't stop spinning rapidly.

"I-I don't understand!" Virgil said, as more and more things got affected by the dark traits' presences. "What's happening?"

"We, genius, are bad." Deceit said. Gesturing around them, he continued, "When bad things like us _destroy_ everything that's good and pure. We don't belong here. We never will. But here, here we can have a little _fun_."

"Y-you're lying!" Virgil hissed, stepping backwards.

Deceit shook his head, grinning, "Not this time."

Virgil tripped over a toy, which broke at his touch. He stumbled to the ground, gasping as the carpet grew dark.

"And the best part is?" Deceit smiled to himself, "Thomas won't even know I exist. But you? Ohhhh. It's already begun."

"What do you-" Virgil tried to ask, but Deceit waved his hand and suddenly, he was transported into a room he'd never seen before. A man who looked like him stood in the center of the room, talking.

"...am actually feeling quite relax-"

"Hey."

"WHAT THe heck!?"

 _Oh._

Virgil understood. Nothing is perfect, and nothing is free. If he wants to exist in this world; be in a safe environment, away from the darkness and the _others_ ; then he has to pay for it. It all made sense to him, the role he would have to play. It was the most obvious thing.

If he wants to be in the good place, he has to be the bad guy.

* * *

Tell me what you think!


End file.
